Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BEEF UP, BEN
Stokes is still in Botham’s shadow
BEN STOKES and Sir Ian Botham have plenty in common as heroic England all-rounders who won games with bat, ball and in the field.
But according to the man who knew Beefy better than most and shared countless hours on the field alongside and against him there is one trait that stands out. “I see the aggression in Stokes and it reminds me of Beefy and I like that,” said Sir Viv Richards (below).
Sir Viv was no wallflower when it came to going toe-to-toe with his opponents.
He would use all the pace and hostility he had at his disposal as West Indies captain and would strike fear into opposition bowlers with his own aggressive brand of batting.
After seeing the way his fellow knight of the realm went about his business up close, he clearly sees the same approach in Stokes, who has built his reputation on being a no-nonsense, hard-hitting and bowling cricketer.
“They are both match-winners who can do something with bat, ball or in the field that can change a game or close it out,” added Sir Viv. “They are both the sort of player who won’t shy away from a challenge. If the captain needs someone to take a wicket or hold up an end, or push the run rate on, they can do it all and that is such a great thing to have.
“I can remember Beefy when he played either for Somerset or for England, he would just take the bull by the horns and get things done.
“He wasn’t afraid to step up and do things his way. In many ways he was the first kind of all-rounder who took such a positive attitude with everything he did.”
And yet as Stokes aims to make as big an impact as possible on the third and final Test in St Lucia after passing a fitness test on his bruised right heel his high-octane match-winning prowess has only been seen fleetingly in recent times.
There were brief moments of success in Sri Lanka, most notably with 99 runs and four wickets in the match in Colombo, plus plenty of catches at slip off the spinners. But he has not quite found the form or the consistency he had before being cleared of assault following a violent incident in Bristol in September 2017.
And until he starts to dominate series in the way that Sir Beefy did, there will only be one name next to the title of England’s greatest all-rounder.
Sir Viv said: “Stokes may have a bit more pace than Beefy and he may bat a bit longer than Beefy did at times but Beefy just got the job done.
“Beefy won a lot of matches and created an aura around him so that other teams were worried about him.
“Stokes has had some success in his career so far but he is yet to dominate a series or a few teams in the way that Beefy did. That will come if he stays fit and trusts his talent because he has a lot of ability, that is for sure.
“Beefy was so special and I consider him to be the leader when it comes to English all-rounders. Everyone that comes after is compared to him, whether it is Freddie Flintoff or Ben Stokes, but there will only ever be one Beefy.”